Reply To: Bible Memory

I am so happy to know about that website for Scripture set to music. Thank you so much for passing that on! Music really is a way to learn Scripture quite painlessly — and it sticks for a long time. For quite a few years I utilized two CDs of Scriptures set to music by Gloria Thorne (unfortunately no longer available) In the past year a student of many years ago testified that she cannot read those Psalms without hearing the music with it. It sticks. Presently we are memorizing a lot of the Sermon on the Mount and I find that talking extensively about the meaning of the verses is key to students latching onto the archaic wording of the KJV. When they understand, they can remember ever so much easier! This week during our practice time I invited students to paraphrase the specific verse we were working on, saying in their own words. That was interesting — and a way to verify their understanding. We do a lot of oral practice with motions interspersed with personal stories that amplify the meaning of the verses. Then they review on their own during the day. Last year they regularly copied the verses into their Bible Journal and often illustrated them. Illustrating helps some students memorize and helps all of us visualize what is being memorized. It feels important to me that the verses memorized are more than a compilation of meaningless words that end up making God feel distant. Sometimes we act out the passage (if it is a story such as the parable of the lost sheep or the Good Samaritan) while reciting. The last number of years the 3rd and 4th graders memorized the Christmas story and recited it while acting it out to the first and second graders (in a very low key informal kind of way with only crudely improvised props such as a box for a manger). For this only the individual(s) reciting a particular part (such as the shepherds) memorize those verses so it took only a number of days to prepare, but in the end most of them have most memorized just because they have heard it. I love when they love to memorize God’s Word and this certainly helps pave the way for that to happen.